tierischem

Tierisch is a German adjective meaning relating to animals or of animal origin. It is used to describe features, substances, or qualities that come from animals, as well as to distinguish animal-related aspects from plant or mineral ones. In scientific language the term helps categorize materials or processes by their origin, for example in discussions of nutrition or biology.

Grammatically, tierisch follows the regular adjective inflection patterns in German when it is used as a modifier. The form tierischem appears in the dative singular for masculine and neuter nouns, as in aus tierischem Blut (“from animal blood”) or mit tierischem Fell (“with animal fur”). Other common forms include tierisch (nominal or accusative neuter/masculine) and tierische (feminine or plural forms, depending on case). The base stem tier- comes from Tier (animal) with the common adjectival suffix -isch.

Etymology and usage: tierisch derives from Tier plus -isch, mirroring similar formations like pflanzlich (plant-related) or chemisch (chemical). In everyday usage, tierisch can be used descriptively in scientific contexts (tierische Proteine, tierische Hormone) or descriptively in non-scientific language to indicate animal origin. Additionally, tierisch can function as an informal intensifier meaning “extremely” or “very” (tierisch laut, tierisch lecker), a colloquial nuance distinct from its literal sense.

See also terms for contrast include pflanzlich (plant-derived) and zoophysiologisch (relating to animal physiology).